Playwright To Give Reading At W&L
The Department of Theater, Dance and Film Studies at Washington and Lee University will present “Till Soon, Anne,” a reading and discussion with playwright Christine Toy Johnson, on March 24 at 7 p.m. in Johnson Theater in the Lenfest Center for the Arts.
The event is free and open to the public. “The Mudd Center’s series this year focuses on the ethics of death with dignity, and Christine’s brilliant musical is about this difficult topic,” said Stephanie Sandberg, associate professor of theater and film. “While I don’t want to overuse the Mary Poppins metaphor, I do think that musical theatre is a spoonful of sugar for topics that we struggle with. ‘Till Soon, Anne’ is a gorgeous script with music that brings out the story in the remarkable manner that good musical theatre does and allows us to fully reflect and feel in the moment with the characters.”
The evening will feature excerpts from Johnson’s 2018 musical “Till Soon, Anne,” which is about a young woman who consciously ends her journey with terminal brain cancer and invites her closest friends and family to a perfect last weekend, determined to celebrate the life she’s been given and the art of letting go.
Johnson will perform with Daniel Reiter ’26 and musical director Patrick Summers, lecturer in music at W&L. Following the performance, Johnson will discuss the meaning and production of “Till Soon, Anne,” for which she wrote the book and lyrics and received an honorable mention at the Jonathan Larson Grant Awards. Johnson will also give a master class for students and staff while on campus.
In addition to “Till Soon, Anne,” Johnson has written more than 20 plays and musicals, as well as several screenplays. As an actor, she has been breaking the color barrier in inclusively cast roles for over 30 years and has been featured extensively on Broadway, off-Broadway and in regional theatres across the country, in addition to appearances in film, television and concerts worldwide. Johnson is also an advocate for media representation and using the arts to shift perceptions of ourselves and others.
Johnson’s visit is co-sponsored by the Glasgow Endowment and W&L’s Mudd Center for Ethics.
JOHNSON
